Desperately need help with a Dell Optiplex and Windows 7 - files inaccessible

[64K]

OP the password thing happened to me after a MS update. I used a PIN for 1,000s of times to log on to Windows on one of my laptops but it wouldn't accept that one day. I had to go to login options on the opening screen and choose PIN to login because somehow MS reset it to password to login. You might try that.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Maybe post a screen shot of the password window
Not completely sure if it a windows or bios password so far.

Built-in Administrator Account - Enable or Disable

How to Enable or Disable the Built-in Administrator Account in Windows 7

www.sevenforums.com

Enable or Disable Elevated Administrator account in Windows 10

How to Enable or Disable Built-in Elevated Administrator Account in Windows 10

www.tenforums.com

 

[bug]

look.... it went to sleep and when i went to wake it the pw didn't work which had worked fine an hour ago.... sorry if thats hard to believe.

I mean, short of a messed up update (which W7 doesn't get anymore) or some virus, I don't see why it would stop working out of the blue.

as for the bios... no mystery there... i followed some instructions that i shoouldn't have and screwed it up.

Any changes you may have made, would be reverted with a clear CMOS. Since you say you took out the battery, you either didn't give it enough time to reset, or your problem was actually caused by something else.

that prob fixed by putting the drive in another frame... i have a screen now but pw problem remains,..... i don't need to be told i don't know what im doing or that i was stupid. i need a rational and intelligent solution.

I meant put that disk in another PC as a second HDD. It won't ask for a password then. Alternatively, boot from a Linux USB stick, mount your Windows partition and copy away.

I am not trying to be a smart ass, but it's easier to help people when they tell you exactly what they did, step by step. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of us here, taking stabs in the dark. One of us may get lucky, but it's mostly guesswork.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
I'm wondering if you op can read english or ???
Using linux usb has been posted a few times now and I posted two tutorials links on how to do it so op seems disingenuous atm.

 

[Valantar]

When it comes to password protected bios, we can't help you crack your way back in for obvious (or not so) reasons

Older Dell Optiplexes tend to have jumpable Bios PW reset headers on the motherboard. Yes, it's kind of absurd - I guess that's why they also have chassis intrusion sensors. Then again, an unintentionally password-protected BIOS isn't the issue here, as that wouldn't cause a black screen.

 

[bug]

Hi,
I'm wondering if you op can read english or ???
Using linux usb has been posted a few times now and I posted two tutorials links on how to do it so op seems disingenuous atm.

No need for aggravation, most people run scared when they read "Linux". Plus, the OP stated he's in a remote location*, he may not have the means to download a distro atm.

@stvsxm Booting from a Linux stick is not rocket science, you just need to follow a few steps to put the image on a USB stick. You don't need to actually install or configure Linux, it comes as a bootable image. There's a small learning curve, yes, but at the end of that curve sits an invaluable diagnostic/rescue tool.

*probably a vacation paradise, fwiw

 

[stvsxm]

Hi,
Maybe post a screen shot of the password window
Not completely sure if it a windows or bios password so far.

Built-in Administrator Account - Enable or Disable

How to Enable or Disable the Built-in Administrator Account in Windows 7

www.sevenforums.com

Enable or Disable Elevated Administrator account in Windows 10

How to Enable or Disable Built-in Elevated Administrator Account in Windows 10

www.tenforums.com

its a windows pw request.... the bios never had one.

No need for aggravation, most people run scared when they read "Linux". Plus, the OP stated he's in a remote location*, he may not have the means to download a distro atm.

@stvsxm Booting from a Linux stick is not rocket science, you just need to follow a few steps to put the image on a USB stick. You don't need to actually install or configure Linux, it comes as a bootable image. There's a small learning curve, yes, but at the end of that curve sits an invaluable diagnostic/rescue tool.

*probably a vacation paradise, fwiw

sorry.... have not seen that but certainly something i can try. will review all the replys and find it and take a whack at that and thx.

 

[Solaris17]

Hi,
I'm wondering if you op can read english or ???
Using linux usb has been posted a few times now and I posted two tutorials links on how to do it so op seems disingenuous atm.

Lets calm down my dude. No need for that.

 

[64K]

its a windows pw request.... the bios never had one.

Did you go to the login options on the boot screen and change it back to which one you normally use? PIN or Password.

 

[ThrashZone]

its a windows pw request.... the bios never had one.


sorry.... have not seen that but certainly something i can try. will review all the replys and find it and take a whack at that and thx.

Hi,
You said you're on a cell phone so take a snapshot of it

If this tutorial doesn't help I'm sorry it is so detailed it's hard for me to believe you can't understand how to use it
All it really takes is a usb and another computer if no computer well you'll have to find one somewhere so you can prep it for linux part.

Lucid Puppy way to recover files from a non-bootable computer - Windows 7 Help Forums

All of a sudden Windows 7 isn’t booting. Why? Is it a software/OS problem or is it a hardware/HDD problem? A live CD can help one, in most cases. If Linux boots and you can view all the files on

www.sevenforums.com

 

[P4-630]

@stvsxm https://www.top-password.com/knowledge/reset-windows-10-local-password-with-security-questions.html

If you are the owner of this PC, you should be able to reset your password this way....

 

[Hofnaerrchen]

Really wish people would be more precise in the titles of their threads... "desperately need help" is not very useful apart from creating click-bait attention

 

[bug]

Really wish people would be more precise in the titles of their threads... "desperately need help" is not very useful apart from creating click-bait attention

At the same time, sums up things pretty well when your valuable files become inaccessible

 

[Hofnaerrchen]

At the same time, sums up things pretty well when your valuable files become inaccessible

Not really... it's just a very unspecific call for help. A title adding "dell optiplex/win 7 - files inaccessible" would create more response. I have no doubts there are people out there who could have helped but ignore threads like this one. There are probably more interesting less unspecific topics and many people are limited in their time budget these days.

 

[Tatty_Two]

Thread title amended, let's get back on track please.

 

[P4-630]

worked and then an hour later didn't.....

To me it's very hard to believe that windows "changed" the password....

 

[Lei]

@stvsxm when did you set this password.
Could you login before with this password.

May be when you were setting the pass, caps lock was on.

 

[bug]

To me it's very hard to believe that windows "changed" the password....

Most likely candidates, he was hacked, or experienced data corruption. But that matters very little now.

 

[ThrashZone]

@stvsxm when did you set this password.
Could you login before with this password.

May be when you were setting the pass, caps lock was on.

Hi,
Yep easiest way to mess up password is hitting caps lock and not noticing

 

[xrror]

What model Dell is it?

If it came with win7 i'm guessing an "older" one, but if you can give a model Dell's service guides online are pretty good.
I may have missed it, but does the machine come up at all? People are talking about firmware passwords and such, but if it doesn't even come on or POST that's kinda irrelevant.

Again sorry if i missed where you said what model Dell or what's going on. I'm guessing you don't have another machine handy to pull the HDD or SDD out and access the data that way?

Worst case, though i dunno what country you are in or if you feel like getting handy with hardware - but at least on US ebay old dell mobos and parts can be had dirt cheap. I swear old Dell Optiplex's are the only machines I know where you could actually buy all the parts separately to make a complete machine with cheaper than buying one whole - which is crazy to me.

Also re-reading the OP, Dell firmwares ... are actually kinda hard to screw up short of pulling the plug out during the update. Again depending on the model\vintage there are ways to do a recovery flash but again usually Dell's firmware updaters are pretty paranoid about not letting you mis-flash anything.

That said, there are some models (of vostro as far as i know) where you can use like winphlash util in windows to force modded firmwares - but that is rare and you'd "know" you did wrong lol

--

Ah i see reading more that you're up to booting win7 and trying to get a password to it? At least it's not bitlocker lol

--

I will say, since this is win7 and probably not an uEFI system... and since apparently we can't give windows password "cracking" advice (fair enough). There are utilities for free (trial versions) that can make a bootable USB stick to "windows password reset - Vista" that indeed still work fine with even windows 10.

These you can use to set to enable the local admin (if it was disabled) and set the password for it to blank.

Alternatively, if you have another windows machine and you can pull the drive from the optiplex, you can use regedit on your "other" windows machine to mount the registry from the optiplex drive offline - which might be what some of the linux distros do also (automated of course). Buuutttt... again, unless you really enjoy learning more about the bowels of windows registry, SAM entries and the like... can't really recommend that route lol

Then at the end of all this, there's a looming chance the reason win7 went wacko is just that the hard drive (if it's the original drive) is just dying or borked ;p